


ain't nothing in this world for free

by raziraphale



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Agender Character, Alcohol, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bodyguard, Canon-Typical Violence, First Kiss, Fluff, Gender Neutral Pronouns for Zer0, IKEA Furniture, Jealousy, Light Angst, Literal Sleeping Together, Minor Character Death, Mishaps, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Other, Phone Calls & Telephones, Romantic Comedy, gross overuse of both emoticons and haikus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-16 01:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18511243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raziraphale/pseuds/raziraphale
Summary: Zer0 wasn't entirely sure why they had given Rhys their number but, regardless, it was too late to take it back.“It is for business,” Zer0 said quickly, hoping their embarrassment was hidden well enough behind the blank slate of their helmet “Professional inquiries, you understand, Rhys.”Rhys and Zer0 go on a series of totally-not-dates, packed with murder, road-trips, shiny guns, karaoke, and Ikea furniture.Or: the five times Rhys called Zer0 to spend time together under the pretence of a job, and the one time Zer0 finally became fed up enough to call Rhys out on it.





	1. ain't nothing in this world for free (5+1)

**Author's Note:**

> so, it's been a while since I wrote fanfic, and it's been equally long since I had a functioning pc - this thing is entirely held together by borderlands 3 hype, my vague memories of bl2 + tftbl, and the sparse info on the wikia pages so don't be afraid to let me know if I fucked up anything major
> 
> we're pretending for the sake of this fic that Rhys and Fiona didn't do that weird disappearing thing in the vault at the end of tftbl, and also that people somehow have contact numbers bc I don't really know how the ECHOnet works
> 
> enjoy !!  
> UPDATE: I have been blessed by some wonderful fanart based on this fic by [ aliensmoothie-gotta-blast](https://aliensmoothie-gotta-blast.tumblr.com/post/184328818986/gayacethirteen-its-finally-done-for-anyone) on tumblr ! Go check out their work ! xx

\- 0 -

Zer0 wasn’t entirely sure why they had given Rhys their number but, regardless, it was too late to take it back. Zer0 could make out the subtle shift behind Rhys’ ECHO eye as he dutifully committed every digit to memory. They could see a flush forming on Rhys’ face, and decided for themselves that it must have something to do with the lingering thrill of defeating a vault monster and opening an actual vault. After all, there was still loot on the ground and adrenaline still in their veins.

“It is for business,” Zer0 said quickly, hoping their embarrassment was hidden well enough behind the blank slate of their helmet “Professional inquiries, you understand, Rhys.”

“Oh,” replied Rhys just as quickly, raising his mechanical arm to rub the back of his neck. “Of course, yeah. Got it.”

The pair lapsed into silence, though the rambunctious chatter of their teammates, divvying up the last of their spoils from the vault, still buzzed around them.

“You will see me soon,” Zer0 offered, trying to break the tension “Success can bring unwanted attention, bandits.”

Rhys looked at them with an uncertain smile. A beat.

“I’m a skilled killer.” Zer0 elaborated, softening the statement with a bright red **[:)]** projected on their helmet.

“Oh,” replied Rhys dumbly, looking torn between oddly touched and horrified at the dawning realization that his life might actually get worse even after all this mess. “I’ll… keep that in mind.”

The light on Zer0’s helmet flickered, changing to a **[:D]** “Feel free to call anytime.”

Zer0 turned to leave, but paused mid-stride, in a way that seemed inhumanly balanced, like they were caught in a photograph “For business, of course.”

“Of course.”

Nodding, Zer0 resumed their stride, quickly disappearing into the desert wasteland as if they had never been there, with barely any sound or impression left on the dirt as proof.

“Oh boy,” Rhys said, releasing all the air out of his lungs at once, bending double to rest both hands on his knees. He could hear Fiona’s laugh from not too far away and decided not to bother lifting his head to look at her undoubtedly smug look.

“Wonder how long it takes to cook up an excuse to hire a Vault Hunter.”

“Shut up.”

 

\- 1 -

Zer0 got a call nearly one month later.

They were in the middle of a job for Moxxi already, looking for a couple of drifters who had skipped out on their tab. Naturally, then, it made perfect sense to clear out their entire camp in the Badlands. Zer0 had their sword up to the hilt in two bandits, resembling some sort of gruesome kebab, when their helmet display alerted them to an incoming call. Without missing a beat, Zer0 yanked their sword, one-handed, out of the twitching corpses and pressed their other hand to the side of their helmet in answer, turning to face the next wave of bandits.

“Uh… hi, Zer0. It’s me,” came a familiar, sheepish voice. Rhys.

Zer0’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly on the handle of their blade, causing a bandit to shriek in pain when an otherwise instantly fatal blow veered slightly off course. Damn. Zer0 could hear Rhys jump at the sound over their connection.

“Is now a bad time?”

“No, not at all, Rhys,” Zer0 replied, steeling themselves for a split second before turning to deal a precision blow to another bandit.

“Oh, okay. Good. Awesome.” Zer0 felt a series of red bars creep up their mask in an illusion of a blush but didn’t bother to stop it. There would soon be no witnesses, anyway. “I was just wondering if you’d be interested in doing a job for me. It’s been a process reclaiming all the old Atlas facilities and uh, not all of them were as well-hidden from outsiders and need some clearing out. What I’m saying is that I could use the manpower, if you aren’t tied up.”

“I am no man, you know that.” Zer0 replied with their usual deadpan cheek, sinking their blade effortlessly into another bandit.

“Ugh,” Rhys sighed in friendly exasperation, and Zer0 knew without seeing him that Rhys’ head had fallen into his hands “you know what I mean. Just get over here as soon as you can. I’ll meet you at Sanctuary.”

“I am on my way.”

The horde of bandits was showing no signs of stopping, but Zer0 cast their Decepti0n and took off in the opposite direction anyway. They had probably got the ones Moxxi was after. Probably.

*

Clearing the bandits out of the Atlas bunker, which Rhys had found tucked away in the side of a cliff in the Highlands, took all of a minute once Zer0 arrived. Far from being infested, the bunker appeared to have been the temporary home of only two travellers. Zer0 stood amidst their tiny camp, sword bloodied with the bodies at their feet, and in the quiet left behind they could hear the bubbling of the travellers’ uneaten dinner over the fire. Zer0 looked over to find Rhys standing in the doorway, head in his hands.

“You probably could have reasoned with them. This feels… unnecessary.”

Rhys groaned, the sound muffled by his hands. “Yeah, I’m… getting that now, thanks.”

“Or taken them out yourself with that taser stick.”

“I know, I know. Believe me, I know.”

“Oh – they had a child.”

Rhys looked up from his hands, dread weighing down his features, only to find Zer0 had soundlessly moved directly in front of him, their helmet glowing with a playful **[:P]**.

“I’m glad this is funny for you.”

Zer0’s helmet changed to a bright red heart. Rhys made a high-pitched sound in response that he tried to cover up with a deep cough. Zer0 tilted their head to the side, still facing him. A moment passed in expectant silence.

“Oh!” exclaimed Rhys, hitting his own forehead in realization. However, he accidentally used his mechanical arm, prompting a dramatic wince from the businessman and a deep chuckle from the assassin. “Ow, shit. Anyway, you probably want to get paid.”

Zer0 went still. Well, stiller than usual, though Rhys didn’t notice, not even with his ECHO eye. Truthfully, the thought of payment had yet to cross their mind. A troubling thought – they needed the payment from mercenary work to survive.

“So, uh,” Rhys started nervously, eyes falling away to not look directly into Zer0’s mask “As you can see, I haven’t really got Atlas up and going yet, so I don’t have much in the way of… actual payment. I promise I’ll give you an IOU but for now, I guess, help yourself to whatever these guys had or whatever you can find in the bunker that hasn’t been cleared out.”

“Robbery as well as senseless murder, what a day this has been, Rhys.”

Rhys groaned, but this time there was a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah, yeah, don’t remind me. I kind of want to forget this ever happened.”

“Noted.”

They wandered around the bunker for awhile, Rhys mentally cataloguing the layout while Zer0 gathered every last item of value. Eventually, though, they both ended up crouched near the travellers’ camp in the front chamber, once Zer0 had dealt with the bodies. Rhys, still feeling guilt squirming in the pit of his stomach, decided it would be wasteful to not eat the stew left behind, and poured a bowl for himself and Zer0. It had gone dark by now, and with no power yet to the bunker, the entryway was lit only by the soft glow of moonlight and the flickering heat of the dying fire.

Rhys tried to keep an eye on Zer0 while he ate his own portion, attempting not-so-subtlety to get a peek at the face behind their mask, but every time he looked away, even for a split second, a significant amount of soup was gone from Zer0’s bowl without them having appeared to move at all.

When Zer0 was finished, they rose silently, flashed Rhys a quick smile on their helmet display, and disappeared into the night.

 

\- 2 -

Rhys’ next call came the week after.

“So, you would like me to escort Atlas tech without getting you killed?”

 “Ideally, yeah, I don’t want to die. I’m bringing all the Atlas resources I could find to that facility in the Highlands –”

“Oh, that home we robbed.”

“Shut up.” Rhys retorted, but with a clear smile in his voice “I just want everything in one place while I’m setting the groundwork, plus Fiona and Sasha have been staying in Sanctuary –”

Zer0 felt a prickle of jealousy. “I will be there right away. I expect payment.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll get something together.” A long pause. “See you soon, I guess.”

*

Outrunners weren’t really meant to seat two people. Well, they were, provided one person drove and the other manned the turret in the back. However, since Rhys wasn’t the shooting type, and didn’t exactly have fond memories of driving on Pandora, Outrunners weren’t meant to seat two people if one of those people was Rhys.

Which is how Rhys and Zer0 ended up squeezed into the single front seat.

“Hmmm… not an escort,” Zer0 mused to themselves, leaning pointedly into Rhys’ side to better access the steering wheel. Rhys yelped at the contact with Zer0’s bony elbow, jerking upwards and hitting his head off the metal frame. Zer0 continued talking to themselves, ignoring Rhys’ sounds of distress, “I believe I am merely your chauffeur now, Rhys.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that every bandit on Pandora seems to have taken a holiday today.”

That was true. They had been driving for hours, back and forth between various Atlas facilities with a trailer hitched flimsily to the back of Zer0’s outrunner. Despite their set-up’s obvious vulnerability and Zer0’s bubblegum pink paint job, not a single bandit had accosted them. Every once in a while, a few rakks and skags would cross their path, but they were dispatched quickly, Zer0 pulling out a gun and shooting them one-handedly without even bothering to take their eyes off the road.

“I think your friends would be more suited for this job,” Zer0 continued, their voice sounding a bit more strained than their usual flat tone. “Budding vault-hunters.” Rhys tensed at Zer0’s side.

“What, Fiona and Sasha?” he replied with a misplaced nervous laugh “I wouldn’t bother them with – I didn’t even think.” Zer0 jerked the steering wheel unnecessarily, swinging the outrunner in a dramatic arc to avoid a rock, pushing Rhys into the metal frame again.  

“You would think that you would want to be close to the woman that you love.”

“Um,” started Rhys uncomfortably, rubbing the side of his head “ _Love_ seems like a pretty strong word for –”

“I witnessed her death.”

Rhys made a frustrated sound. “Okay, yeah so maybe I cried like, a bit more than normal.”

“It was rather disturbing.”

“Okay maybe it was more than the little bit, but –”

“Or more like a lot.”

“– _but_ the point is that even if I care about Sasha a lot, and I think I care about them _both_ a lot, I don’t think I care about them _like that_ , y’know?”

Zer0 didn’t respond, but Rhys caught a glimpse of a bright red **[?]** from the side of their mask.

“I mean, like, sometimes you’re in a really tough spot with someone, and you’ve got to depend on each other, that you kind of just get caught up thinking about them a certain way. You don’t really a get a chance to check your assumptions until the dust settles.”

Zer0 stayed silent, leaving only the sound of the engine and of wheels carving tracks through loose dirt. 

“I care about them a lot – they’re my friends – but we’re moving in such different directions that I don’t think anything would work out with Sasha anyway.”

Zer0 turned their gaze from the road to look at Rhys. Despite their mask revealing nothing at all, Rhys seemed to interpret something from the look and began to backtrack. “Not that, y’know, you and your partner can’t be into very different things, I just meant that –”

“I understand, Rhys.”

“… you do?”

“Yes, I believe that I do.”

“Oh,” said Rhys simply, colour rising to his cheeks.

Of course, this was the perfect time for bandits to appear on the unwatched road, the outrunner lurching to a stop and sending both its unsecured passengers flying forwards.

*

By the time Rhys and Zer0 made it back to Sanctuary, it was long past nightfall and they were both looking worse for wear. Rhys’ suit had been torn in various places, and everywhere there was exposed skin was coloured with red scrapes and the faint purple of future bruises. Zer0’s suit and anonymity both remained intact, but the material was worn thin and rough, like they had been dragged behind the outrunner with the cargo.

Both were exhausted by the time they arrived, and silently parted ways with only a **[^^/]** from Zer0’s mask. Rhys headed to his temporary residence with Fiona and Sasha, and Zer0 to the company of the other Vault Hunters, to rest and get patched up.

It was only when Rhys was settled on the sisters’ couch, muscles sore and skin buzzing with the effect of antiseptic, that he realized that Zer0 had left before he could pay them.

 

\- 3 -

Rhys’ next call came a few days later and, even though they were aware of the hypocrisy of it, Zer0 found his instructions to be frustratingly cryptic. Zer0 was to meet Rhys at his new Atlas headquarters, with no hints as to where the job would take them from there.

Of course, Zer0 had more important – and _certainly_ better paying – things to do with their time. Zer0 was also self-aware enough to know they had it bad. And, perhaps, if Rhys’ vague excuse of a job offer was any indication, he was also grasping at any excuse to spend time together. Though, Zer0 admitted to themselves after a moment’s thought, while Rhys’ actions were often a mystery to those around him, it was rarely deliberate, and instead just a side-effect of the many stupid things he did just because.

Still, Zer0 went anyway.

*

The Atlas facility that greeted Zer0 upon their (embarrassingly quick) arrival was much changed. Firstly, Rhys had finally rigged it up to a power source, and seeing the over-bright, even lighting of a corporate building made Zer0 grateful for the dimming effect of their helmet. Secondly, there were actual employees milling about, carrying tech and paperwork through the former bunker’s main chamber to other places in the facility. Zer0 was surprised to note that none of them seemed to be Children of Helios, and that Rhys had actually managed to convince normal people, or at least normal by Pandoran standards, who didn’t already worship the ground he walked on to work for him. It was almost impressive.

Though Zer0 recognized a few vaguely familiar faces from Sanctuary, most of the employees lowered their gaze and hurried their work at their arrival, knowing Vault Hunters at least by reputation if nothing else.

Zer0’s fingers itched to draw their blade. They prided themselves on being unfazed, but the bright and sterile corporate environment still never failed to raise their hackles. Even before all that happened with Hyperion and Handsome Jack, the shiny corporate buildings always stood in unsettling contrast to the unruly wilderness and ramshackle settlements of the rest of Pandora, their pristine buildings dotting the landscape like open sores. Next to Pandora, Zer0 felt that most humans would describe the sleek surfaces and artificial lights of Atlas as _alien_ , and despite being considered an alien themselves by human standards, Zer0 was inclined to agree. No matter how dangerous and unpredictable Pandora proved to be, Zer0 was never more on edge than here.

“Hey, Zer0!” came a voice, echoing across the high-ceilinged chamber “Over here!”

Zer0 turned to find Rhys, half-hanging out of a doorframe across the room, gesturing for the assassin to follow him inside. As they moved to follow, Zer0 could still hear the mutters of the employees and feel their eyes tracing their movements when they weren’t looking, but felt the tension in their body release all the same with every step they took towards the door.

Zer0 slipped inside, and heard the door close with a dull, heavy thump behind them. The room was smaller than the main chamber, but far emptier. A few crates lined the end of the adjacent wall closest to the door, the rest of the room a long, empty rectangle. Despite the space, the comparatively dim lighting and the seemingly heavy-duty quality of the walls made the room feel suffocating.

Zer0 didn’t hear Rhys’ footsteps echo as he walked towards one of the crates, turning back towards Zer0 with his arms outstretched excitedly “Surprise!”

Zer0 tilted their head, displaying a bright red **[?]**.

Rhys looked around at the crates. “Oh shit, gimme a second.”

With a few presses to the holographic display from his cybernetic arm, Rhys recreated his earlier greeting just as the crates opened in unison, revealing dozens of brand-new weapons. Zer0’s helmet immediately changed to show a **[!!!]** as they moved to join Rhys by the crates, picking up the nearest sniper rifle and weighing in their hands. Even in the low light, the weapon glinted with a subtle, blue-gray shine as Zer0 turned it over carefully.

“So,” started Rhys, unable to contain himself much longer as he hovered at Zer0’s side “This is kind of a job but also kind of not, I guess, but we needed someone to test our new weapon prototypes and I thought ‘who better than a Vault Hunter, right?’”

“We fortified the walls in here for testing, so you’re not putting your life on the line or anything.” Rhys started walking along the wall, still gesturing wide-armed at the guns on display. “Oh course, for your trouble, feel free to take whatever you want with you.” Rhys turned back to Zer0, putting his hands behind him and rocking back on his heels. Rhys’ smile was nervous, but still easily brighter than any of the lights in the room.

Zer0 wanted to make a light joke about clearing the bunker of yet another innocent family for practice, but instead found themselves staring dumbfoundedly at the gun in their hands, the shiny metal tinted red from the exclamation marks still glowing from their helmet.

“I am… touched. Truly,” they managed after a significant pause.

“It – it’s not a big deal,” Rhys said, scratching the back of his head, clearly pleased “Consider this my IOU. We’re even now.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Zer0 replied automatically, surprising themselves and also Rhys, who let his hands fall back to his sides and blinked with deliberate slowness.

“Uh,” Rhys took a step towards them, bringing his arms back across his body to wring his hands together “Well, I didn’t get a chance to pay you for the past two jobs…”

“Yes… that is correct.”

Rhys took another step, now only an arm’s length from Zer0, a smile starting to tug at his lips again. “Offering up your services for free now, huh? I should’ve asked you to do my employee interviews instead.”

“Do you usually pay people to spend time with you, Rhys? Pathetic.” Zer0 flashed a playful **[:P]** emoticon to soften the remark and let out a low chuckle as Rhys rolled his eyes affectionately in response. Rhys took another step forward, leaning in until his teasing smile was as close to Zer0’s mask as was possible with their height difference.

“Well,” said Rhys, lowering his voice in a way that was clearly meant to be suggestive but was significantly marred by his rising blush “There are certain people whose company I wouldn’t mind paying for. Ugh, I mean, not like that, I’m not suggesting you’re –” Rhys closed the last of the distance between them, moving to put his hands over where Zer0’s rested on the sniper rifle.

In an instant, both Rhys and Zer0 were thrown to the floor by the unexpected kickback of the sniper rifle discharging. Rhys had inadvertently pressed the trigger, and with the rifle angled upwards in Zer0’s grip, the bullet fired towards the ceiling, connecting with one of the light fixtures in a dramatic shower of sparks.

“As your gun tester,” said Zer0 with dry annoyance from where they lay on the hard floor, halfway under Rhys’ sprawling limbs “I would recommend that you install a safety.”

Rhys ignored the comment, sitting up on their elbows. “It could’ve been worse.” Rhys stared pointedly at where their legs were still tangled before turning his head to look at Zer0 with a sheepish grin.

Before Zer0 could respond, the air in the bunker began to vibrate violently with the sound of an alarm. Zer0 looked around, their helmet displaying their confusion with a **[?]**.

“What in the –” Rhys looked upwards for the source of the alarm, only to get a face full of water as the emergency sprinklers activated.

*

As it turned out, neither a safety nor water resistance were considered requirements on prototype weapons. Rhys and Zer0 once again parted ways prematurely, both a little less financially stable, still a little uncertain as to whether the other was coming onto them, and with their shoes squelching with every step homeward.

 

\- 4 -

Zer0’s communications remained quiet for the next few weeks. They still received the usual business inquiries – senseless murder, petty theft, same old, same old – but found themselves turning most of them down on some sort of vague whim until they, too, started to peter off into silence. Zer0 was just taking a break, of course, with their recent tendency to hang around Sanctuary all the time totally unrelated to the radio silence of a certain CEO. Totally.

However, Zer0’s habit of moping did come in handy when Rhys called them three weeks later about meeting them at Moxxi’s for a job. A fortunate coincidence, then, that Zer0 was already there, camped out in a booth trying to figure out what kind of human liquor actually had an effect on them.

When Rhys finally slid in to the booth across from Zer0, he had an apologetic smile on his face, and his arms already outstretched in an imploring gesture.

“Okay, so I realize I’ve accrued… a bit of debt with you…”

“Nice to see you, too.”

“… but I really need some help and the other Vault Hunters kind of scare me.”

Zer0 felt themselves tense at the tone in his voice. “Is there something the matter?”

Rhys hunched up, leaning over the table with his arms folded in front of him. “Remember what you said about success bringing unwanted attention?”

Zer0 sat up straight, a **[!]** flashing on their helmet.

Rhys looked around the bar nervously, clutching tightly at his elbows. “It started out as just a feeling, like I was just being paranoid or something, but I think there might actually be someone following me.”

“What do they look like?”

“I’m… not sure,” Rhys said, looking around again instinctively “I’ve being seeing the shadow of someone camping out outside Atlas, but they’ve never gotten close enough for me to get a good look at them. I’ve been lying low and haven’t been outside in weeks. I had to call Fiona to get me this far.”

“And they’re after _you_?”

Rhys narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“There are lots of people working for Atlas now.”

Rhys shrugged, but the movement was strained. “I guess it could be anyone, but everyone else has been outside without trouble and I’m also gonna be honest here and say I’m being little self-centered about this.”

“An understatement,” Zer0 countered, though a teasing lilt came through their usual deadpan tone “What would you like me to do?”

Rhys breathed a sigh of relief, his whole body seeming to unclench as he melted into his booth seat. “Honestly, just hang around and be my bodyguard for a bit. Security system means I’m safe enough at Atlas but if I stay cooped up in there one more day, I’m gonna lose it.”

“And if they follow?”

“Better to die free than in captivity,” Rhys said overdramatically, reaching across the table for one of Zer0’s many half-drunk bottles of liquor. He took a theatrical swig as if he had just given a rousing speech, only to spit it back out immediately, tears beginning to stream down his face. He started pounding his chest with his mechanical arm, and amended between coughs “Also, I think I trust you to keep me safe.”

Caught between making fun of Rhys with a **[:P]** display and reacting to his admission of trust with a sincere **[ <3]**, Zer0 ended up instead with a **[:3]** on their helmet. Deciding to accept where this day was headed, Zer0 reached again for the liquor.

*

As the day wore on, Zer0 began to regret still being sober, despite their best efforts. Rhys became louder and dumber with each bottle he knocked back and Zer0, entirely on the shaky promise of being paid (and absolutely no other reason), followed him in his antics. They mostly tried to keep Rhys sequestered in their booth at Moxxi’s, where Zer0 had a good view of their surroundings and possible exits, but Rhys wasn’t going to let himself be cooped up again so easily.

Sometime after nightfall, Rhys ended up dancing in an uncoordinated frenzy in the middle of the room, belting out lyrics to songs nobody else on Pandora seemed to know and occasionally shouting out requests to Moxxi behind the bar, who pointedly ignored him. Zer0 didn’t dance, but their body swayed involuntarily with Rhys’, who had his hands on their forearms, and fought to keep their helmet from displaying a red blush.

Eventually, Rhys had the bright idea of having Zer0 look up the lyrics to songs on the ECHOnet and have them scroll by on their helmet for karaoke.

“So, everyone can join in,” Rhys proclaimed sagely, in the way only drunk people can.

Zer0 didn’t point out that no one else in bar even knew the tune to these songs, instead letting Rhys’ performance devolve into guiding Zer0 around the room by their arms in some sort of bizarre tango, singing directly to their faceplate like a drunk serenade.

Unfortunately, Zer0 had little time to bask in the weird intimacy of Rhys’ mobile karaoke. They were promptly kicked out of Moxxi’s as soon as the late-night crowd rolled in.

*

“Congratulations,” Zer0 said as the two of them walked down the moonlit streets of Sanctuary “I’ve never seen someone get kicked out of Moxxi’s.”

“Seriously?” Rhys was walking beside Zer0, but backwards, and with his arms outstretched as if to balance himself. Zer0 didn’t bother to ask why.

“Very serious,” Zer0 hummed in reply, “And I’ve seen Krieg rip out an eyeball for dinner.”

“Like… somebody else’s eyeball, right?”

Zer0’s blank helmet was the only response he received.

“Ew.”

“Indeed.”

Rhys turned around so he was walking forwards again, but he still walked like he was on a tightrope. “Moxxi just can’t appreciate talent.” Zer0 smartly chose not to comment.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. The streets of Sanctuary were surprisingly deserted, the only sounds the quick footsteps of the usual ne’er-do-wells fleeing back into the shadows as the two of them passed by, and the odd person heading to Moxxi’s for the night. Despite the hour, Rhys looked relaxed as he made his way gracelessly through the streets, weeks of tension having fallen from his shoulders. Zer0 idly wondered how much of it was due to alcohol, and how much due to their presence.

“Before, I, uh, pass out,” Rhys started, moving to walk backwards in front of Zer0 “I just wanted to say thanks sticking around. I really needed this.”

“I can see that, Rhys,” Zer0 deadpanned, giving a once-over of Rhys’ haggard appearance “and here I thought this was an excuse to hang out.”

“I mean…” Rhys’ face, already flushed with alcohol, turned even more red “I could’ve always just called Fiona, but…”

“But I am the best,” Zer0 interjected confidentially.

“True, but…” Rhys trailed off. He slowly came to a stop, and Zer0 followed suit to avoid knocking him over. They stood in silence in the middle of the street.

Rhys sighed, looking down at his shoes. “I was starting to think that I wasn’t cut out for Pandora,” he began slowly, as if trying to find his thoughts through the haze of alcohol “but I realized it really didn’t matter what I could do on my own as long as me and my friends help each other out down here.”

Rhys looked up at Zer0’s mask with a determined glint in his eyes. “Thanks, you’ve been a really good friend, Zer0.”

Before Zer0 could even parse their feelings about being called Rhys’ _friend_ , Rhys had stepped closer, putting his hands on Zer0’s arms like he had in the bar. “But y’know, I feel like it’s more than that and – stop me if I’m saying some crazy shit here because I’m really drunk but –”

If Zer0 could perceive time in slow motion, they would’ve allowed themselves a brief moment to scream in frustration at the sight of a glint of gunmetal over Rhys’ right shoulder. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the luxury of time, and so had to settle for grabbing Rhys by the shoulders and pulling him behind them as they drew their sword.

“Hey, I think we’re moving a little too fast –” Rhys stammered, the combined force of momentum and alcohol sending him falling backwards to the ground. The sound of a gunshot echoed through the street, punctuated by the shrill, screeching sound of the bullet being deflected by a sword.

Before either could speak, a figure emerged from the shadows. She was relatively young, likely still a teenager, though it was hard to tell under the dirt and tattered clothing that clung to her small frame. Even in the dark, Zer0 could see the subtle quiver of her lip, but the hands that held her gun were steady, and aimed directly at them.

“You killed my parents,” she stated plainly, her voice hollow and rough with disuse “Took all our stuff, and turned our refuge into an ugly corporate hellhole.”

“Oh fuck,” Rhys muttered, voice caught between incredulity and horror, and _definitely_ too drunk to read the room “They did have a kid, god fucking –”

The young woman screamed in anguish, redirecting her gun downwards to where Rhys had collapsed on the ground behind Zer0. In a panic, Rhys threw up his hands in surrender, only to fall back into the dirt without hands to prop himself up.

“Listen, I haven’t killed anyone – um, scratch that – I didn’t kill _them_ , but it was an accident, you see –”

Rhys didn’t get a chance to explain. The woman screamed again, but this time the sound was cut off abruptly with a wet cough. The Zer0 standing in front of Rhys fizzled out, revealing the real Zer0, a red **[0]** flickering to life on their helmet, standing over the woman’s shoulder, with their sword buried to the hilt in her back. Zer0’s sword protruded, grotesque and bloody, from her chest, and as they retracted it, the woman slumped forward to the ground like a doll, nothing left keeping her upright.

As the body fell to the ground in front of him, Rhys retreated backwards on all fours from where he was still lying in the dirt, his uncoordinated limbs slipping in his panic. He stayed on the ground, catching his breath, while a heavy silence fell on the street.

“Was that… really necessary?” Rhys stammered, unable to take his eyes off the body.

“She was going to kill you, Rhys,” Zer0 replied flatly, as though Rhys were overreacting.

“Not like she didn’t have good reason to,” Rhys said, anger starting to fill the hollowness of his voice “She was just a kid.”

“What should I have done?”

“I don’t know,” Rhys retorted, raising his voice “Maybe, y’know not killed a kid?”

“It is what I do,” Zer0 said solemnly. “I won’t apologize for doing what I could.”

Rhys made a frustrated noise but didn’t argue. He pulled himself up from the ground, pointedly ignoring Zer0’s outstretched hand even as he wobbled on his feet. Zer0 followed silently, only reaching out to grab Rhys’ arm when they realized he was moving to leave the city. Rhys shrugged off their grip.

“Leave me alone, I’m going back to Atlas.”

“That would not be wise,” Zer0 pointed out, but didn’t try to stop him again “Especially at this hour.”

“Well,” replied Rhys, his tone downright acidic “Maybe I can save the lives of whoever I come across on the way by going alone.”

“You’re being a child.”

Rhys turned around to face them, his body trembling with restrained emotion. “Maybe I am, though god knows that kids on this godforsaken planet are born with a gun in their hand.” Rhys’s shoulders slumped, his energy leaving him. “Maybe I really don’t belong on Pandora after all.”

“That is why I’m here,” Zer0 said, their voice uncharacteristically soft “You called me here so that I can protect you, Rhys.”

Rhys didn’t respond, simply sighing before turning back and heading home. Zer0 stood completely still in the empty street until Rhys passed from view, then set off back to Moxxi’s as if on autopilot.

At the sight of the Vault Hunter, Moxxi prepared to throw them back out but, noticing their slumped stature and lack of companion, she let Zer0 back into their booth. Without saying a word, Zer0 ordered the next type of alcohol on the list of those they hadn’t yet tried and settled in for night, alone at their booth once again.

*

When Zer0 woke up the next morning, body stiff and hunched awkwardly over their table at Moxxi’s, there was a notification flashing in the corner of their helmet’s display. Looking at the sender, Zer0 straightened up in an instant, knocking their pile of abandoned bottles to the floor with a masked wince.

Zer0 had received four separate electronic payments from the Atlas Corporation, all more than modest without being too generous. There were no notes attached to the transfers besides a cold, detached _for services rendered._

Zer0 lowered their head back onto the table and went back to sleep.

 

\- 5 -

The next call didn’t come for another week.

“It’s been awhile, Rhys.”

“Yeah, it has.”

“…”

“I have, uh, another job for you if you aren’t busy.”

“… what would you like me to do?”

“I’ll explain when you get there. It’s in Sanctuary – I’ll send you the location.”

“Nice to talk again,” Zer0 added softly, knowing that Rhys had already severed the connection.

*

Rhys’ directions brought Zer0 to a lopsided building that resembled a stack of shoe boxes more so than a functional structure. This, of course, made it blend in easily with its surroundings. Zer0 climbed the battered metal staircase that wound itself around the building and seemed to creak and sway with the breeze, entering a small apartment near the top.

The apartment was only one room, and noticeably bare save for the stacks of boxes and other household items piled precariously around the door. Rhys was waited for them by the doorway, perched on the largest box in a show of nonchalance.

“Glad you could make it,” Rhys said, sounding too nervous to be glad at all. When Zer0 didn’t say anything, he continued “I… needed to have a place away from work that wasn’t just with Fiona and Sasha so… I’m gonna need some help setting it all up.”

“You must be joking.”

Rhys frowned, in a way that caused the space on the top of his nose between his eyebrows to scrunch dramatically. Zer0 had to remind themselves they weren’t on good terms to keep from being charmed by the expression. “I’m not joking, this is some heavy lifting.”

Zer0 displayed a bright **[?]** on their helmet. “Rhys, you have a robot arm.”

“It’s only one! I’m no Vault Hunter here. I can’t even do a handstand with this thing.”

Zer0 gestured to themselves dramatically, so completely at odds with their usual stoic stance that an involuntary smile peeked at the corner of Rhys’ mouth. “Bitch, I’m made of sticks.”

Rhys laughed suddenly like it had been punched out of him, and with it the tension seemed to evaporate from the room “Maybe we should tackle this together, then.”

*

The late afternoon sun was streaming through the single letterbox window in the apartment, bathing Rhys and Zer0 in its orange glow as they sat, cross-legged, in the middle of room. The pieces of a bedframe were piled around them like a hastily-constructed fortress, Zer0 patiently trying to decipher the paper instructions for Rhys while he directed a growing variety of curses to the pieces in his hand.

“Where did you get this?” Zer0 said, not for the first time, as they slowly rotated the manual in their hands, hoping a change in angle would reveal hidden truths “Furniture has never told me how to build it.”

“I…” Rhys trailed off, losing his train of thought for a moment as he examined one of the many seemingly identical screws “I bought it from a supplier off-world. It’s where they got all the office junk back on Helios.”

“I think I can see,” Zer0 hummed, now holding the instructions completely upside down “why its employees were such unstable people.”

Rhys looked over at Zer0 with a frown, only to have the two pieces of bedframe he had just put together in front of him break apart before he could say anything. “Okay, yeah, that seems pretty fair. I think I’d be a more well-adjusted human being if not for Ikea.”

“Perhaps not useless,” Zer0 pondered “for well-adjusted humans are the most boring.”

Rhys sat for a moment, confused, wondering how to take that statement, before Zer0 turned and flashed him a **[;)]** , sending a blush surging through Rhys’ face.

*

By the time Rhys and Zer0 bumbled their way through assembling the bedframe, night had already fallen on Sanctuary. Rhys unceremoniously tossed his bare, ratty mattress onto to the frame as soon as it was moved to the back of the room, immediately collapsing face-down for a much-needed break. Without looking up from where he had faceplanted into the mattress, Rhys smacked the space beside him in invitation. Carefully sidestepping discarded boxes and unused parts, Zer0 settled themselves beside Rhys on the bed like a moderately prissy cat, all sharp angles compressed into the smallest area possible, not touching Rhys at all.

They sat in silence for a while, exhausted, taking in the distant shouts that characterized Pandora, and the subtle groaning of metal as the apartment stood, against all odds, in the gentle evening breeze.

“Hey, Zer0,” started Rhys after a while, the sound muffled by the mattress. Zer0 looked down as Rhys turned his head to the side, exposing his face. A beat, then, “Thanks for helping me out today. I really appreciate it. I owe you one.”

If Zer0 could figure out a way to properly communicate rolling their eyes on their helmet display, they would’ve done so in that moment. They rolled their eyes regardless, the motion hidden by their mask. For Rhys’ benefit, Zer0 settled for shaking their head, looking off towards the other side of the room.

“Not a transaction,” Zer0 said slowly, still collecting their thoughts. “Ruled by money as we are, this isn’t a job.” Zer0 gathered their limbs closer to their chest, chin tucked between their knees. “… not anymore.”

Zer0 looked back at Rhys, only to find the human’s eyes had closed and his chest was rising with deep, even breaths. Fighting between frustration and affection, Zer0 settled for both, and turned away from Rhys, stretching out on the bed beside him to sleep.

*

Zer0 woke the next morning to find Rhys still asleep beside them, wrapped around their body like an awkward vine. Carefully, Zer0 extricated themselves from his grip and made to leave the apartment in silence – though, not without carefully assembling the remaining pieces of furniture and arranging them inside the apartment.

Rhys would wake up later find a note on his beside that read:

_Before you get mad_

_Know that I enjoyed our time_

_It was not wasted._

_0 <3_

 

\- +1 -

Rhys was sitting at his desk, stuck reading the same sentence four different times on the paperwork in front of him, when he saw the notification from his ECHO eye appear in the corner of his vision. A call from Zer0.

“Hey, buddy. What’s up?” he answered, aiming for cool indifference to make up for how quickly he had picked up. Nailed it.

“Come meet me at once.”

Rhys jumped at the forcefulness of the demand, glancing at the clock on his desk and frowning. “Uh… what for? I’m kind of busy these next few –”

“I am parked outside Atlas,” Zer0 interrupted, their tone cryptically flat “I will wait for you.” The connection dropped.

Rhys looked at the clock again, then back to the stack of papers on his desk. From their firm tone, Rhys had the feeling that Zer0 would be waiting outside until whenever he decided he could come meet them. Despite that, Rhys knew his concentration would be shot for the rest of the day. Better to at least be honest with himself.

“I’m taking the rest of the day off!” Rhys yelled back to his new secretary as he practically stumbled out the doorway in his haste to leave, not bothering to hang around long enough to wait for a response. “Tell everyone I’m busy!”

Rhys stepped outside, his eyes immediately falling on Zer0, who was lounging absurdly on one of the tires of their bright pink outrunner. As Rhys approached, Zer0 slid off the vehicle and back onto their feet, boldly flashing a **[ <3]** on their helmet.

“Uh, hey,” Rhys greeted, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck “Do you need some Atlas help on a job or something?” Even with the mask, Rhys could tell Zer0 was rolling their eyes.

“No, Rhys, I do not.” Zer0 closed the gap between them, placing their hands carefully on Rhys’ upper arms. Though the assassin made no sound, Rhys watched as their chest and shoulders heaved upwards with the force of a deep breath.

“I do not need a job to justify spending time with you. I am weary of treating our relationship as a transaction, as it diminishes the very real feelings that I believe we have between us. I know this is partially due to my own dedication to my mysterious persona – as well as your difficulty talking about your feelings with others – which is why I am telling you, as clear as I am able in your language, that I care about you a great deal and wish to spend time with you, romantically.”

A moment of silence followed Zer0’s speech which, despite its clear emotion, was delivered clearly and evenly in Zer0’s usually flat tone. Rhys could feel his jaw hanging loose from his face but didn’t move to close his mouth as he paused to mentally gather himself.

“Um, uh,” Rhys attempted when his brain refused to order itself, “I really don’t know what to say.”

Zer0 tilted their head, somehow adding a weight of worry to the **[?]** on their mask, before changing back to an encouraging **[ <3]**.

“I mean, I guess I should say,” Rhys tried again, maneuvering their arms so that he was also holding onto Zer0 “Yes to… all of that. Yeah.”

Zer0 immediately flashed a **[!!!]** , and before Rhys could react those exclamation marks were pressed against his forehead and down the bridge of his nose in an approximation of a kiss. Rhys hoped Zer0 couldn’t feel the way his skin seemed to catch fire at the contact.

“I feel… extremely fortunate that this worked out.” Zer0 hummed against Rhys, who felt every word vibrate through his body.

“Yeah, me too, Zer0.” Rhys mumbled against the mask with a smile, letting himself leave a quick peck to emphasize his point. As Zer0 pulled away, Rhys felt his gaze wander back to the outrunner. “Where are we off to?”

Zer0’s helmet lit up with a smile as they let go of Rhys to throw themselves gracefully into the driver’s seat. “Care to join me, Rhys?”

Nodding eagerly, Rhys followed, infinitely less gracefully, and squeezed himself into the driver’s seat beside them.

“This is not a business trip,” Zer0 reminded them pointedly, a happy hum in their synthesized voice.

“Cool, it’s a date, then.”

Zer0’s helmet flashed one last heart before the pair peeled off in the outrunner, the Pandoran dust obscuring the view as they disappeared on the horizon.

 


	2. BONUS (+2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> +2
> 
> In which Zer0 calls Rhys on business, and Rhys leads them back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so I had totally intended for this fic to stay completed as it was, but the new bl3 gameplay reveal had me losing it. I hadn't expected to see Zer0 and Rhys in the new game until release so I was super hype buuuuuuuuut since I don't really have much context from the new gameplay I don't really feel comfortable writing zerhys fic for bl3 yet. So I just channeled all that energy into this fic again (oops). 
> 
> So consider this chapter a bonus and completely optional to the canon of this fic. I'm still not entirely happy with it but honestly I've gonna such lovely responses from this fic + the borderlands fandom in general that it felt wrong to not share what I've written with you all
> 
> Promise there's still a happy ending. A little conflict, but this fic should hopefully lead well into where we see Rhys and Zer0 working off-world together in bl3
> 
> Enjoy, guys!

\- +2 -

Zer0 prided themselves in having very few rules guiding their work as an assassin and mercenary.

For one thing, being open and indiscriminate with violence only helped Zer0 get closer to their goal of finally finding an opponent to truly rival their skills. Rejecting jobs based on some narrow moral standard meant possibly missing out on the fight they’d been searching their entire life for. Someone’s relative innocence, in Zer0’s experience, was not a reliable predictor of their skill in combat, especially on Pandora. If anything, going after everyone they were paid to kill regardless of their background was very egalitarian of them, Zer0 thought privately.

For another, not having a moral code was good for personal protection. People with morals could have their rules exploited, have their bleeding heart exposed to those who would take advantage of it. No one bothered targeting the loved ones of someone who maintained the public image of a heartless killing machine, who showed the same emotional range thrusting a sword through someone’s spine as most people do filling out paperwork. No one targeted your loved ones if they weren’t entirely sure you wouldn’t kill them yourself if paid the right amount.

Make no mistake, despite Zer0’s cold exterior, they did have people they cared deeply about, but their professional image generally protected those few from being caught in the crossfire. It also didn’t hurt that most of Zer0’s few trusted companions were fellow Vault Hunters, or at least had been on Pandora long enough that they could take care of themselves. Zer0 didn’t exactly lie awake at night worried that some grieving relative of one of their targets would take out Maya while she was kicking back at Moxxi’s at the end of a mission.

Rhys, however, was an entirely different story.

*

“You Atlas bastard!” the last bandit screamed, blood spraying from his mangled lip, causing Zer0 to pause, their sword poised over the bandit’s breastbone. Zer0 remained crouched over the bandit, who was sprawled on his back in the dirt, chest heaving from the short struggle.

“I am not Atlas,” replied Zer0 in a deadpan, the slight tilt of their head the only indicator of their confusion.

The bandit laughed, flecking Zer0’s suit with even more blood. “Coulda fooled me.”

Zer0 considered responding by letting their sword sink into the bandit’s chest like they originally intended, but hesitated instead, their hands shifting almost imperceptibly on the handle of the blade.

Incidentally, not allowing their targets the time to speak was one of Zer0’s few actual rules on the job. Conversations only increased the likelihood of escape and weakened resolve. Plus, with all the absolute nonsense that came out of the mouths of people on Pandora, Zer0 was probably better off not hearing it. Their long, involuntarily, and very one-sided call with Handsome Jack up until his defeat had only further cemented this rule in Zer0’s mind.

But, yet again, anything remotely related to Rhys was proving to be the exception to Zer0’s rules.

Emboldened by Zer0’s silence, the bandit began to speak again. “Everyone on Pandora knows you’re at the beck n’ call of Atlas these days.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong, Zer0 admitted to themselves. Though they weren’t exactly turning away other jobs, with the amount of time they were spending with Rhys and attending to the various (illicit) needs of his fledgling company, Zer0 wasn’t in much of a position to receive employment elsewhere. They might as well be an Atlas employee these days.

The bandit started to raise himself on his elbows, letting the tip of Zer0’s blade dig into the flesh of his exposed chest. His grin dripped with blood and arrogance “From the looks of things, Atlas can’t afford to be paying you too much. Though, I’m guessing that CEO of yours pays you back in _other_ ways.”

Zer0’s hands tightened once again on the handle, sending a streak of blood running down the bandit’s chest as the blade sunk slightly deeper. “Atlas is only a job. They do not own me.”

The bandit’s grin didn’t falter. “Oh, my mistake, then, guess you two have a more casual thing going –” His voice was cut off by a final spray of blood as Zer0 finally plunged their blade the rest of the way through the bandit’s chest.

Zer0 remained crouched for a moment, completely still as the light left the bandit’s eyes, processing the encounter. Then, with deliberate slowness, they rose to their feet, drawing the blade out of the corpse and giving it a single, firm shake to rid it of most of the blood. The bandit hideout around them, previously bursting with the chaotic sounds of Pandora, was silent, save for the encroaching sound of rakks lured by the smell of fresh corpses.

Suddenly wanting to get as far away as possible, Zer0 hopped into their discarded outrunner and raced to the nearest cliff to report back to Atlas.

*

Standing alone on a ridge overlooking the Highlands, Zer0 called Rhys. He picked up on the last ring, and Zer0 allowed themselves a small, hidden smile at the shuffling sounds that told them that Rhys had fallen asleep on his desk while doing paperwork and had just been woken up by his ECHO eye.

“Oh, hey Zer0,” Rhys half-mumbled, voice rough and scratchy “You’re done already?” Zer0 allowed a moment for Rhys could check the time. “Oh shit, nevermind I guess it’s getting late. Must’ve lost track of time. You take care of the bandits ambushing our shipments?” Zer0 didn’t respond, trying and failing not to be endeared by Rhys’ sleepy incompetence.

Not deterred by the silence on the other end, Rhys continued on. “Uh, since it’s getting late, I guess there’s no reason to come back to Atlas. You can just meet me at the apartment. I haven’t eaten since lunch so I should have something ready by the time you –”

“That…” Zer0 interjected flatly “would not be wise.”

Still not picking up on his partner’s tone, Rhys barrelled through Zer0’s objection with a good-natured sigh. “I’ve told you – I’m totally cool not seeing what’s under your mask if you don’t want me to. I can look away when you’re eating, or if you just don’t want to eat, I won’t be offended or anything you can just –”

Frustrated, Zer0 cut Rhys off with a sharper tone. “I don’t think it would be wise to come home right now.” Zer0 flinched at their choice of words. Calling somewhere your home didn’t exactly inspire emotional detachment. They’d let this go on too long. Silence finally fell on the other end of the line.

“Is… everything okay, Zer0?” Rhys asked eventually, voice soft but with the underlying tension of anxiety. He was worried.

When Zer0 didn’t respond immediately, Rhys filled the absence with an awkward laugh. “If this is about what I said about growing a moustache I wasn’t being serious.” A beat. “Well, I was being serious, but I wasn’t going to actually do it if you didn’t want me to…” Rhys let himself trail off, smothered by the heaviness of the silence between them.

“People know of our…” Zer0 started again, voice still tightly controlled “… connection. Making contact could be dangerous.”

Zer0 could make out the sound of papers shuffling around as Rhys burst into a flurry of movement. “Are you being threatened? Am _I_ being threatened? Is someone following you? Is it Maliwan? Those bastards never leave me alone, I’m  –”

“Rhys!” Zer0 shouted, finally letting their emotions strain the modulator on their helmet. Rhys immediately went quiet, giving Zer0 the time to collect themselves.

“There’s no current threat,” Zer0 said firmly “but the bandits’ knowledge of us is concerning.”

“I’m not seeing the problem here,” Rhys said, voice careful yet exasperated. “Was it supposed to be a secret? I mean, I told my mom we –”

“Many enemies,” Zer0 cut him off again, sharp as their blade “come with the work that I do. It is not safe, Rhys.”

“I kind of figured that out when I signed up, thanks.”

Silence fell once again between them, and Zero found themselves crouching down in front of their outrunner. Despite not being physically tired, Zer0 still longed to sit down after the events of the day, but remained ready on their feet.

“This was a mistake,” Zer0 said quietly “You cannot protect yourself.”

Zer0 was expecting Rhys’ usual passionate denial, listing his (admittedly few) skills in combat in a way meant to both reassure and amuse his partner, but the defeated sigh that came over their connection made Zer0 sink to the ground, sitting cross-legged and vulnerable.

“Guess it’s too late now.”

Zer0 made an **[?]** appear on their helmet display despite Rhys not being able to see it. “I do not follow.”

Rhys sighed again, but this time Zer0 caught on to the dramatic sarcasm of it. “Well, if every bandit and their skag knows we’re together you can’t just leave me alone now. Guess that means you’re stuck with me forever.”

“…”

“I should start shopping for rings.”

“This is serious.” Zer0 finally cut in, voice humming with irritation like a disgruntled cat.

“I _am_ being serious.” Rhys insisted, and Zer0 immediately knew he was pacing his office as he spoke. “The way I see it, the danger really cancels itself out. Like, knowing you puts me at risk, obviously, but if I’ve got the most capable fighter on the planet crashing in my apartment all the time, I think I’ll be fine. If anything, I’m probably safer with you around.”

“You will become a target, my only weakness.”

Rhys sighed one last time, but it sounded tired. “I’m trying really hard not to be touched by that right now, but honestly if you think I’m not already a target just for being associated with a major company – let alone its CEO – on this… _hellscape_ of a planet then you’re kidding yourself, Zer0.”

“…”

“Also, y’know… I trust you to look out for me and I, uh, love you and… stuff.”

“…”

“It’s okay if you can’t say it back right now. It just kind of came out –”

“I am… trying, Rhys.” Zer0 felt Rhys about to interject again and hastened their words. “My love for you does not translate well to haiku.”

“… you’re a dork, you know that?” Rhys’ voice was still tired, yet quickly warming with amusement “And you’re right that one was a little rough. Definitely not your best. What do they call it in poetry when a line runs over to the next one? I almost failed English but I swear there’s a word for that.”

In the privacy of the empty cliff, sitting in the shadow of their outrunner, Zer0 allowed a heart to light up their helmet. “I love you, Rhys,” they said softly.

Zer0 was embarrassed by how endearing they found the awkward giggle that followed. “Good because you’re stuck with me. Four syllable lines aren’t so bad sometimes.”

“…Sure.”

“You think you’re funny but now I’m gonna hang up before you can squeeze in the other twelve. Meet me at the apartment if you care about my safety or whatever _okayloveyoubye_.”

As the line went dead, Zer0 rose from the ground, carefully straightening out their limbs and then folding themselves back into the outrunner.

Before Rhys, the path in front of them had been unknowable – a string stretched between a series of otherwise unrelated points that only became clear as they were already happening. Nothing connected Zer0 to the events of their life besides the controlled swing of their sword through their targets. Zer0’s path now was just as unclear, the next point just as fuzzy beyond the horizon, but now, at least, there was another string entwined with their own. Zer0 didn’t know where their work would take them next – or whether it would even be on Pandora – but from the looks of things, Rhys would be there, too.

For his own safety, of course, and absolutely no other reason.

Zer0 started the engine and took off in the direction of home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for indulging my bl3 hype. Comments are very much appreciated, and you can find my ass over on [tumblr](http://gayacethirteen.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading !! xx feel free to let me know if you spot any glaring errors or even if you just want to yell nonsense. comments give me life!
> 
> also feel free to scream about borderlands over on my [tumblr](http://gayacethirteen.tumblr.com)!
> 
> EDIT: now with a kind-of-sort-of follow-up fic, [ In One Ear ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20581967) !


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